As part of the Community Mental Health Transformation, Innovation Fund Micro-grants will be distributed to Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) partners. The main purpose of the Innovation Fund Micro-grants is to support small/grassroots organisations to deliver mental health interventions within the communities of Coventry and Warwickshire.

The Innovation Fund is delivered as a partnership between Voluntary Action Coventry (VAC), Warwickshire Community and Voluntary Action (CAVA) and Coventry and Warwickshire Partnerships Trust (CWPT) Fund distribution is overseen by Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB).

Fund Aims
The fund aims to support Coventry and Warwickshire residents aged 18+. Applications must meet one of the following criteria:

• Use of community spaces to tackle loneliness and isolation
• Deliver peer support for people with mental health needs
• Improve accessibility to mental health projects/services e.g., through transport/outreach in local communities
• Provide health and wellbeing support in response to the cost-of-living crisis.

Community Mental Health Transformation priorities:

• Young Adults– appropriate mental health interventions for 18-25s
• Older Adults– appropriate mental health interventions for over 65s (excluding dementia)
• Addressing health inequalities- people from under-represented groups/experiencing homelessness/experiencing poverty.

Available Funding
Grants of up to £3,000 for organisations in Coventry and Warwickshire. Funding must be spent by March 2024.

Deadline for Micro-grant applications: 12 noon, Friday 17th February 2023

What will we support?

• Start-up costs for a new project or organisation
• To extend or develop an existing project
• For pilot project (to gather research or evidence)
• To purchase equipment or resources
• To provide essential support to service users e.g., food, travel costs.

Eligibility
You can apply to this fund if you are one of the following:

• Social Enterprise
• Independent Employee/Member/Retired Persons Social Associations
• Sports and Leisure Club and Societies
• Faith Organisation
• Registered Charity
• Constituted or Un-Constituted Community Group
• Company Limited by Guarantee with Charitable Aims
• Community Interest Company
• A VCSE group or organisation with income of less than £50,000 per annum.

Funding to Community Interest Companies and other non-charities may include conditions to restrict funding to charitable objectives only.

Funding to Un-Constituted Community Groups is subject to appropriate governance being in place.

The Innovation Fund Micro-Grant aims to promote the work of grassroots organisations and groups.

Please note, we are unable to fund the following:

• Public and Private sector organisations
• Political parties, trade unions and party-political organisations
• Organisations or projects owned or controlled by public or private sector organisations (e.g., local authority controlled companies)
• Services directly replacing statutory obligations and public funded services
• Statutory work in educational institutions
• Groups or organisations with income of more than £50,000 per annum.

Additional Supporting Information
To be eligible to apply you must be able to provide:

• A written constitution/articles/set of rules

It is preferred that you hold and can share:

• A copy of your Public Liability Insurance covering the services outlined in the application
• A copy of your Safeguarding policy
• A copy of your Information Governance policy.

All grant applicants will need to complete an end of grant monitoring form and supply at least one case study by March 2024.

All grant applicants will be expected to participate in any appropriate publicity as requested by the Community Mental Health Transformation team.

How to apply
There are two options for applications:

• A written application detailing your project via our online application form
• A 3-minute video which you then attach to the online form.

If you would like an offline copy of the application form, please email Eleanor Nunn, e.nunn@vacoventry.org.uk

For more information, please see our FAQs, or contact Eleanor Nunn or Mandy Groves mandy.groves@wcava.org.uk

Deadline for Micro-grant applications: 12 noon, Friday 17th February 2023

The Innovation Fund 23/24 (bids over £3k up to £25k) will be opening soon. Please see our FAQs for guidance on applying for this fund. If on publication you feel this fund is a better fit for your organisation and you have submitted an application to the Micro-grants, please contact Eleanor Nunn before the deadline.